Laminated fabric



A. S. BELL ETAL LAMINATED FABRIC Filed March 31. 1943 Jueza, 194s.

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Attorney 5 Patented June 29, 1948l UNITED STATES PATENT .ori-iceLAMINATED FABRIC Application March 31, 1943, Serial No. 481,204 In GreatBritain May 13, 1942 s claims. (ci. isi-4s) s This invention relates toiabrics and fabric articles, and especially to multiply fabrics(including two-ply fabrics) the plies of which are united by means of athermoplastic material, and to articles formedof such fabrics. Suchmultiply fabrics are referred to below as laminated fabrics.

We have found that by using for all the plies in a laminated fabricassembly, fabrics having what may be described as structural elasticity,i. e. elasticity due to the structure of the fabric and not to thenature of the textile fibre. and bonding said plies together in such. away that areas in which they are bonded alternate with areas in whichthey are free, laminated fabrics and fabric articles having a markedelasticity in at least one direction can be obtained. Eiramples offabrics having structural elasticity are knitted fabrics and crepefabrics.

VThe laminated fabrics of theiuvention comprise a plurality ci fabricplies bonded together at intervals in such a way that along a lineparallei to one edge of the laminated fabric, areas in which. the pliesare bonded alternate with areas in which they are free, each of thefabric plies having structural elasticity in the direction of said line,so that the laminated fabric is elastic in that direction.

Preferably the plies are bonded together by thermoplastic bres containedin one or more of there. t particularly useful construction comprises aninner ply of fabric, which may be termed the interlining, composed ofthermoplastic and nou-thernioplastic bres so distributed that alonglines parallel to one edge of the fabric, bands con- 35 tainingthermopiastic bres alternate with bands containing onlynon-thermoplastic bres, the structure ci the fabric being such that itis elastic along such lines, and two outer plies, one bondedv to eachface of the interlining by the thermoim plastic bres in the interlining,these outer plies being structurally elastic in the same direction asthe intcrlining.

Fabrics having the structure specified above go by folding a singlefabric.

ends of non-thermoplastic yarn (e. g. cotton) followed by a number ofsuccessive feeders each of one or more ends of thermoplastic yarn (e. g.cellulose acetate) and one or more of non-thermo- 5 plastic.

m duced in various ways but we prefer to apply it in solution in avolatile liquid which is a non-solvent for the thermoplastic material,to the interlining. After drying, and preferably ageing at an elevatedtemperature to facilitate preferential m absorption by the thermoplasticfibres, the interlining can be washed in the volatile liquid to removeplrsticlser from the non-thermoplastic libres. The ageing can, withadvantage, be effected in a moist atmosphere. Such methods 2@ ofplasticising the thermoplastic bres in an interlining fabric aredescribed, for instance, in U. S. Patents Nos. 2,323,121,2,326,128 and2,326,189.

The outer-ply fabric may be a knitted fabric 25 of unplasticisedthermoplastic fibres or :non-thermoplastic fibres or both. It must, ofcourse, have structural elasticity in the same direction as theinterlining. In the case oi a three-ply fabric the two outer plies maybe separate or may be formed This may be folded so as to envelop theinterlining, as described for example in Patent No. 2,377,933.

The bonding together of the plies by the therneoplastic fibres containedin one or more of them, may be eected by pressing the assembly of fabricplies at an elevated temperature. When the as- Iseinbly consists of aninterlining containing plasticised thermoplastic fibres and outer pliescontaining unplasticised thermoplastic bres, the. conditions of pressingshould be such as to .render lthe plasticised fibres, but not theunplasticlsed fibres, adhesive. The bonding may be assisted by thepresence of Water or a volatile liquid having softening or even solventproperties for -the ther- .tor the interlining are believed to be novel.The i5 moplastic material, at the temperature of pressinterlining fabricmay be a fabric in which, along lines parallel to one edge of thefabric, bands containing thermoplastic and non-thermoplastic libresalternate with bands containing only nonthermoplastic fibres, thestructure of the fabric 50 being such thatl it is elastic i along suchlines. Knitted fabrics having this construction are particularlysuitable. Such fabrics may, for example, be formed on a circularknitting machine, with a number of successive feeders each of one ormore 55 ing, but care must, of course, be taken not to damage thefabrics treated, for instance bypressing at temperatures too high, orfor too long, or by' allowing outer plies containing thermoplasticfibres to be attacked by solvent liquids.

One method of forming sweat bands for hats, according to the invention,will now be described with reference to the accompanying diagrammaticdrawings whereinz' Fig. 1 is a plan view of part of an interliningfabric for use in the production of laminated fabrics from which sweatbands can be cut:

Fig. 2 is a plan view on a. smaller scale of a portion of laminatedfabric suitable for. the purpose referred to, and formed by bondingtogether under heat and pressure two plies of knitted all-cellu=loseacetate fabric and an intermediate ply of the interlining fabric shownin Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 ls a sectional elevation of the laminated fabric shown in Fig. 2taken parallel to its length;l

and

Fig. 4 is a plan view on a still smaller scale of a sweat band cut fromthelaminated fabric shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the component fabrics beingseparated and turned back at one corner to show the construction.

lThe interlining fabric is knitted on a l2-feeder circular knittingmachine having 8 successive feeders of two ends l of 40 count cottoneach, followed by four successive feeders of one end l I of 40 countcotton and one end l2 of 140 denier cellulose acetate each. This resultsin a fabric in which bands of cellulose acetate in admixture with cotton(one of such bands is indicated by the reference numeral i3 of Fig. 1)alternate with bands of cotton alone (a part of one such band isindicated by reference numeral Id onFig. 1).

The cellulose acetate yarn in the interlining fabric is plasticised byimmersing the..fabric in a solution of a plasticiser, for example:

About 52 parts by volume dimethylglycolphthalate About 4 parts by volumetriacetin and About 144 parts by volume industrial alcohol,

drying the fabric, heating it for about one minute at a temperature ofabout 100 C., ageing it for at least 24 hours at a temperature of 30-40C. and repeating the washing, drying and ageing steps, if necessary,until the fabric is free from stickiness, and substantially the whole ofthe plasticiser present is carried by the cellulose ace-y tate yarn.

When the plasticised interlinlng is sandwiched between two plies ofall-cellulose acetate knitted fabric an-d' the assembly is pressedbetween sheets of closely woven cotton material in a platen-press withthe bottom plate covered with woolen blanket material and the| platensat a temperature of about 120o` C., the three plies are united forming alaminated fabric of the structure shown in Figs.` 2 and 3 Where bands l5in which the cellulose acetate yarns 0f the interlining have coalescedwith the cellulose acetate yarns of the two cuter layers alternate withbands i6 `in which the cotton courses I6a are sandwiched between but notunited to two layers i 1 and I8 of cellulose acetate.

From a sheet of laminated fabric of Figs. 2 and 3, a sweat band of theform shown in Fig. 4 is cut in a direction substantially parallel to thelength of the fabric, i. e. substantially perpendicular to thealternating bands of all-cotton and cellulose acetate-cotton in theinterlining. In Fig, 4 a corner I9 of one of the outer plies 20 has beenturned back to reveal a portion 2l of the interlining and a. corner 22of this has lbeen turned back to reveal the inner surface 0f the otherouter ply 23. y

YVarious methods may bel adopted to prevent ravelling at the cut edgesof the fabric plies. One method is to do the cutting with a hot knife. Asecond method is to mark out on the sheet of laminated fabric, the linesalong which the sweat band or other article is to be cut out, with adope pencil, i. e. a pencil-shaped container filled with a suitable dope(e. g. a solution of cellulose acetate in acetone) and adapted to traceout a line of dope when drawn across the fabric. After marking out thelines in this way the sweat band is cut out, while the dope is stillliquid so that it serves to sticktogether the fibres at the cut edges.Athird method is toapply a volatile solvent for the thermoplasticmaterial, to the cut edges, e. g. from a pad or cloth. Yet anothermethod is to pass the cut edges through a flame.

Sweat bands made as described above have a noticeable elasticity in thedirection of their length quite beyond that of similar articles in whichthe plies are formed from woven fabrics or from knitted fabrics unitedover their whole area. By reducing the width of the bands containing thethermoplastic yarns in relation to the width of the bands ofnon-thermoplastic yarns a still greater elasticity is obtainable whereasif the width of l the bands containing thermoplastic yarns be increasedat the expense of the bands of nonthermoplastic yarns a lower elasticityresuits.

In a similar way to that described for the production of sweat bands,other laminated fabric` articles which are desired to have elasticity inone direction can be made, forinstance, chainstraps for hats' andhelmets, belts, components for braces, garters and militarybody-harness, including the head-harness of respirators. 'Laminatedfabrics and fabric articles having a substantial elasticity in at leastone direction, although formed of fibres which are inelastic, are noveland the invention includes such fabrics and their production broadly.

In carrying out the invention, variations in detail from the methoddescribed above can be made while still carrying out the broad principleof the i invention. Thus, for instance, instead of employlng circularknitted fabric of construction such as that specified above for theinterlining, a warp` knitted fabric in which bands of'non-thermoplasticyarns alternate with bands containing both thermoplastic andnon-thermoplastic yarns may be employed. As in the case of the circularknitted fabric the bands must run transversely to, and preferablysubstantially perpendicular to, the direction in which elasticity isrequired. The bands containing the thermoplastic yarns may vcontain noother yarns, but with a view to obtaining maximum' strength in theproduct it is preferable for these bands to contain non-ther-` moplasticyarns in admixture with the thermoplastic yarns. This construction alsoallows control of the air-permeability of the laminated fabric,according to the proportion of thermoplastic to non-thermoplastic fibre.

Instead of knitted fabrics other structurally elastic fabrics may beused in the interlining. Thus for example the interlining may be a wovenfabric containing crepe twisted yarns so disposed as to give structuralelasticity in the desired direction. The fabric may be Woven from awarpcomprising bands of non-thermoplastic yarns alternating with bandscontaining both thermoplastic and non-thermoplastic yarns, and filledwith a non-thermoplastic crepe-weft. Such a fabric has structuralelasticity in a weft-wise direction, and a suitable interlining forsweat 'bandsy or other long narrow articles may be cut from it so as tohave its longer dimension parallel to the weft, and used in the same wayas the knitted interlinings described above. Interlinings containingcrepe yarns in both warp and weft may also be used.

The outer plies of the laminated fabric are preferably formed of aknitted fabric of cellulose acetate or like thermoplastic libre; forinstance, bres of any of the thermoplastic materials referred to belowin connection with the interlining maybe used. The use of libres 0f thisnature isparticularly desirable in the case of sweat bands and otherarticles which in use are vworn next to the skin since the hydrophobenature of these libres prevents undue wetting of the material byperspiration. A still greater degree of resistance to penetration byperspiration may be obtained by applying a water-proofing treatment, forinstance a treatment with wax, ethyl cellulose, rubber or a rubber-likesynthetic resin, in solution or aqueous dispersion, or withwaterinsoluble soaps, for instance aluminium stearate, to one or both ofthe outer plies of the laminated fabric. This treatment may be appliedbefore uniting the plies to the interlining. The outer plies may, on theother hand, be formed of nonthermoplastic i-lbres, ror instance cotton,linen, or other vegetable libres, silk, wool or other anim-a1 ilbres,but in this case a product much less resistant to penetration bymoisture is obtained. Artificial proteinaceous fibres or bres ofcondensation polymers of diamines with dicarboxylic acids, e. g.polyhenamethylene adipamideand like fibre-forming polymers, may also beused.

.although -ln the preferred form of the invention the bonds for unitingthe plies are provided by plasticisecl fibres contained in bands spacedapart from one another by bands containing' only non-thermoplasticlibres, this is not the only method of carrying out the invention. Thus,for example, a structurally elastic interlining may be used containingthermoplastic fibres throughout, .preferably in admiature with:fion-thermoplastic, and at intervals along the line in which'elasticity is required in the product, bands of thermoplastic nbre mayhe rendered adhesive or potentially adhesive (i. e. capable or becomingadhesive at an elevated temperature) by the local application ofa-plasticiser or solvent, for instance in the form'or a dope. Reliancemay be placed entirely on a dope or other adhesive locally applied toone or more of the structurally elastic plies to he united and in thiscase it is unnecessary for any of the plies to contain thermoplasticmaterials. Superior products, however, are obtained when the bonds foradhesion are provided by ilbres contained in at least one of the pliesto be united.

The invention has been described with particular reference to theproduction of three-ply fabrics. The principle of the invention can,however, be put into practice using only two plies, each beine of astructurally elastic fabric and at least one containing thermoplasticyarns. The invention also includes the production oi elastic lami-*hated fabrics :formed from more than three plies or material, i'orinstance five or seven plies, the same principles being applied in theproduction of such fabrics as have been described in conneclli) itil

a higher fatty acid are specially useful. Polymerised unsaturatedfibre-,forming substances can also be used, for instance polyvinylacetate (where a low softening point is not undesirable) polyvinylchloride, polyvinyl chloride-acetate, polyvinyl chloracetate,polystyrene and polymers of acrylic acid and its derivatives. In thecase oi' most of these thermoplastic nbre-forming substances it isnecessary, in order to obtain good adhesion between the plies, to have aplasticlser present.

Suitable plasticisers for the organic derivatives of cellulose referredto include lower alkyl phthalates, for example dimethyl phthalate, loweralkoxy alkyl phthalates, for example dimethoiry ethyl phthalate, loweralkyl phth'allyl glycolla'tes, for example methyl phthallyl ethylglycollate, tri- (monochlorethyl) phosphate, triethyl citrate, diethyltartrate and esters of glycerine, for instance triacetin andtripropionin. Phosphoric esters such as tricresyl phosphate, tributylphosphate and triethyl phosphate may also be employed. preferably inadmlxture with a greater proportion of one of the plasticisers specifiedabove, having a greater amnity for the cellulose derivative than .thephosphorus ester. The plasticiser is preferably applied to theinterlining containing the thermoplastic fibres by a bath treatment andexcess of plasticiser removed after an ageing step, as described above.For application to thermoplastic materials which, like celluloseacetate, are insoluble in ethyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol forms a suitablemedium in which to apply the plasticiser. Introduction of theplasticiser into Athe thermoplastic fibres of the interlining beforeweaving, or in the spinning of those libres, is a much less convenientmethod.

Having 'described our invention what we desire to secure by LettersPatent is:

l. A laminated fabric comprising a plurality of iabric layers all ofwhich have structural elasticity in the same direction, said layersbeing bonded together at intervals by bands of thermoplastic yarnspresent in one layer,- sa-id bands running perpendicular to saiddirection and alternoting with bands of non-thermoplastic yarns, wherebythe laminated fabric has structural elasticity in said direction.

2. A laminated :fabric comprising a plurality oi knitted fabric layersall or which have structural elasticity in the same direction, saidlayers being bonded together at intervals by bands of thermoplasticyarns present in one layer, said bands running perpendicular tn salddirection and alternating with bands of non-thermoplastic yarns,

said layer being of fabric formed by knitting on a circular knittingmachine with a number of successive feeders each of two ends oi'non-thermoplastic yarn followed by a smaller number of feeders each ofone end of thermoplastic yam and one end of non-thermoplastic yarn,whereby the laminated fabric has structural elasticity in saiddirection.

3. A laminated fabric in accordance with claim l wherein the bondingfabric layer is composed of thermoplastic and non-thermoplastic bres sol distributed that along lines parallel to one edge of the fabric, bandscontaining thermoplastic libres alternate with bands containing onlynonthermoplastic fibres, the structure of the fabric being such that itis elastic along such lines.

e. VA laminated fabric in accordance with claim 1 wherein the bondingfabric layer is composed of thermoplastic and non-thermoplastic libresso distributed that along lines parallel to one edge of the fabric bandscontaining thermoplastic and non-thermoplastic bres alternate with bandscontaining only non-thermoplastic fibres, the structure of the fabricbeing such that it is elastic along such lines.

5. A laminated fabric in accordance with claim 1 wherein the bondingfabric layer is a knitted fabric composed of thermoplastic andnon-thermoplastic bres so distributed .thatbands containingthermoplastic and non-thermoplastic libres alternate with bandscontaining only non-thermoplastic fibres.

6. A laminated fabric in accordance with claim 1 wherein the bondingfabric layer is a knitted fabric composed of thermoplastic andnon-thermoplastic bers so distributed that bands containingthermoplastic and non-thermoplastic fibers alternate with bandscontaining only non-thermoplastic fibers, said fabric being formed bylknitting on a circular knitting machine by a number `of successivefeeders each of two ends of nonthermoplastic yarn, followed by a smallernumber of feeders each of one end of thermoplastic and one ofnon-thermoplastic yarn. n

7. A laminated fabric in accordance with claim 1 wherein the bondingfabric layer i-s a knitted fabric composed of thermoplastic andnon-thermoplastic fibers so distributed that bands containingthermoplastic and non-thermoplastic fibers alternate with bandscontaining only non-thermoplastic fibers, the thermoplastic fibers insaid fabric being plasticized and the non-thermoplastic fiber-s beingsubstantially free from plasticizer.

8. A laminated fabric in accordance with claim 1 wherein the bondingfabric layer is a knitted fabric composed of thermoplastic andnon-thermoplastic fibers so distributed that bands containingthermoplastic and non-thermoplastic bers alternate with bands containingonly non-thermoplastic fibers, said fabric being formed by knit-I tingon a circular knitting machine by a number of successive feeders each oftwo endsl of nonthermoplastic yarn, followed by a smaller number offeeders each of one end of thermoplastic and one of non-thermoplasticyarn, the thermoplastic REFERENCES CITED 'Ilhe following references areof record in the.

' die of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

